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Hotel Bar

Before moving to Slum Castle, I lived directly across the street from Franklin Southie. Having a bar across the street- especially such a fantastic bar- is a wonderful thing, but it can also lead to a lot of hefty bar tabs, french fry dinners, and very late nights (they close at 2:00 AM). After joining forces, David and I became a fixture at the Franklin, and we came to meet a lot of our dearest friends sitting on those bar stools. In fact, we were there so often that our group of friends dubbed it the Hotel Bar; come 10:00 PM on any given night, a large group of us would crawl over for a ‘nightcap’, which was really an excuse to get out of our tiny condos and hang out with friends (new and old alike- we were constantly meeting new people at the Franklin). It was just like living in a hotel- a hotel with a bar where the residents held court but also maintained a stream of visitors just looking for a drink and conversation to get them through the night before catching the first flight out of town in the morning.

Though we’ve moved away and only visit a couple times a month, David and I are still close with the staff and are always given a warm welcome when we visit. We stopped in the other night for a quiet drink and light dinner and lo and behold many of our neighborhood friends were there! It wasn’t until that moment, when a group of neighbors who I used to see daily came over to chat, that I realized how starved I am for that community engagement now that I live in Somerville. Though I’ve found my new home base this side of the Charles, it’s not frequented by the people who live directly around me (though, I don’t know if I’d want to hang out with the people who live directly around me…) and I miss knowing my community as intimately as I used to.

When I move to London, location is going to be huge for where we settle. I again need that feeling of community that I had in Broadway Village and I want to live close to a great restaurant with a solid bar that I can easily walk to. The Franklin spoiled us with their close proximity and delicious fare. I highly recommend you visit if you’re looking to for a nice dinner at the bar and good conversation. I’m sure you’ll meet a character or two!